Moving to a new country is never easy. There are many things to consider; a new language, a new culture, and the impact on family and relationships. For Neymar Jr there was also the small matter of a £198m price tag.

Very few have sympathised with the Brazilian. His was a move that drew derision as much as it drew excitement from the residents of Saint-Germain. From egotism and individualism, to financial avarice and being a willing pawn in a game of malevolent state soft power, Neymar’s move from Spain to France was by no-means straightforward.

And this has certainly shown in his first few months in the French capital. There has been the great and the delightful, but also, on occasion, there has been affirmation for the sceptics.

Mixed fortunes so far

“At the very beginning when he arrived, the very first game, it was like a dream situation. Everybody was only focused on him and he was the man,” Erik Bielderman, chief football writer at L’Équipe, tells i.

“He had a bit of struggle to settle, and we were a bit disappointed by his individual performance.

“But then, I would say from November, he’s back on what we expect from him.”

Neymar’s debut, at Guingamp’s rural Stade de Roudourou, was thought to have set the tone. A goal and an assist, topping a performance that he littered with moments of brilliance, seemed to affirm that this move would lead to Neymar taking centre stage, liberated from the shadow of the great Lionel Messi, free to dance to his own tune.

But football is a team game, and suddenly the man who wanted to be king discovered he would have to share power. Chief among the delegates were Kylian Mbappé, and Edinson Cavani.

Power-sharing

“It was not Neymar the star, it was not Mbappe, not Cavani, it’s the MCN, like you have the BBC [Bale, Benzema, Cristiano] up front at Real Madrid, like there was the Messi-Suarez-Neymar connection in Barcelona,” says Bielderman.

Neymar is one of three. He’s not the star of Paris Saint-Germain, even if he’s the most famous player.

Erik Bielderman

“Now Neymar is one of the three. He’s not the star of Paris Saint-Germain, even if he’s the most famous player. It’s really three forward players together.”

Neymar, it seemed, did not take to being one of a three once again all that kindly. During a turgid PSG display against Lyon at the Parc des Princes in September, Cavani and Neymar clashed over who had the right to take penalties.

From there, the stories have streamed from Paris. A dressing room fall-out, a €1m hush fund for Cavani, an unhappy Neymar, rumours linking him with a transfer back to La Liga. The dream move, to catapult Neymar to the Ballon d’Or, and the Champions League trophy to Paris, looked to be crumbling away.

“He’s a kind of in and out player,” adds Bielderman.

“He can have great games and suddenly he can have medium range games.

“It’s sure that each time he goes to London for some party or he goes to Barcelona to see the ex-teammates, then the rumours go on that he hasn’t settled as well as we could expect.”

Neymar’s future already looks uncertain

His absences off the field have also been reflected on it. While he has shown on occasion his undoubted world-class talent, turning in outstanding displays against Toulouse and Bordeaux where he inspired PSG to hit them both for six, there have been moments where the Brazilian has appeared uninterested. In two of their biggest games of the season – against Marseille in Le Classique, and Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena – Neymar was anonymous.

This has all served to fuel speculation that Neymar could be on the move again, with rumours suggesting a shock move to Real Madrid. For Bielderman, when all of this is combined with the news that PSG face the Champions League holders in the round of 16, the prospect of a Neymar departure is not totally far-fetched.

“In Paris Saint-Germain he is sure to be a [Ligue 1] champion,” says Bielderman.

“There is no challenge. Only the Champions League is a challenge, and when you know the draw is to play Real Madrid, then if they get beaten in the next round by Real Madrid, suddenly the season is off, and we are in February!

“So I think if they don’t beat Real Madrid, that’s something which may turn his mind and he will ask that question about his future.

“The draw has changed the vision we have about what is going to happen.”

While the jury remaining out on Neymar’s first few months in Paris after such a big fee is unsurprising, it is incredible to think that there is a possibility that the jury could also be out on his future too.

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